Blowing in the Wind
by kkcaleb13
Summary: Max was always a free-spirited kind of guy. His favorite thing in the world was the feeling of being free her got when he ran. The feeling of the wind on his face was all he ever needed. Then all of a sudden, the entire U.S. military is pointing their guns at him. Be it from the new conduits or the army, Max is about to get a chance to run to his heart's content. (T for violence)
1. A Slight Breeze

Math is hard. Calculating every last value is boring. Max wasn't stupid, so he could do the work, he just never really had a reason to. When it came to what Max really wanted, running was the way to go. No brainwork, no rules, just him and the ground beneath his feet. Easy peasy.

Which was probably why Max was often found skipping class at the track. The rush he got from making the ground beneath him vanish was what he lived for. Max sat down after his fifth mile, still barely breaking a sweat. He smiled at the sky, the sun shining down on him, the flash of smoke that passed over his head. He sat up, the smoke having caught his attention as it hit the dirt. When it crashed, he realized the smoke was a person, so he ran over and looked the guy over.

The boy was about his age, dressed like a punk-goth with a beanie on. Max grabbed his shoulders, "Hey! You alright?!"

The boy coughed, "Yeah, I'm good."

Max helped him up, "How did you do that?!"

"Well... that's a long story... to put it short, my name's Delsin. I'm what's called a conduit."

"A... conduit?"

Delsin smiled, "I'm one of a kind, that's for sure. Hey, if I wanted to hide from a bunch of cops, where should I go?"

Max pointed at the woods behind the track, "I go in there when I want to skip class... it's a really big forest, so it's good for hiding... What's a conduit?"

Delsin saluted him as he took off, "See you later, kid!"

Max tilted his head to one side, wondering what was going on right up until a dart hit him in the neck. Then he blacked out.

* * *

><p>When his vision returned, he was inside a dark room with his hands cuffed to a metal table, "W-Where... am I?"<p>

A man in a black suit with shades covering his face entered the room through a door and sat down across from him, "Where's the conduit?"

"The... what?"

"Delsin Rowe. The boy covered in smoke. You saw him and you pointed towards the woods near your school. What did you say to him?"

"Delsin...?"

"Kid, if you don't tell me everything you know right now you can kiss your freedom goodbye. I'll lock you in the deepest, darkest hole on this planet and leave you to rot in it." The man placed a picture of Delsin on the counter, "Where is he?!"

Max snapped awake, "I-I don't know! He asked me where he should hide and I told him the woods is where I skip class!"

The agent squinted, "That's all?"

Max nodded, afraid that he'd commited some kind of crime, "That's all, I swear!"

The agent put his finger on the picture, "This boy nearly tore an entire city to pieces because he wanted to test just what he could do. I personally don't care if it was an accident or not, he's a threat to this country, my country, and I'm not going to stop until I find him. So if you're lying to me, you had better be bringing him to my doorstep by tomorrow or I'll destroy you. Am I clear?"

Max shook as he nodded vigorously, "Y-Yes, sir."

The agent pulled out a card, "If you forgot something or you see him, call this number. Ask for agent Deacon."

Max took the card, "I-I will."

* * *

><p>Once he'd been released from questioning, he had to go home and explain to his parents that he had been arrested by the department of defense because he decided to go for a jog. The only reason they let him off the hook was because they could see the shock and nerve-shot expression on his face. Max was pretty easy to read, after all, and he never did anything to really get himself into trouble.<p>

So Max went out running to calm himself down. Not very far, just around the track until he finally was too tired to stand and tremble. He was panting on the field when he heard a voice with a southern accent, "Wow... I heard ya got arrested, but I didn't think ya really DID."

Max smiled, "Oh... it was terrifying... I nearly puked..."

The blue-eyed, southern girl with caramel hair plopped down beside him in her blue jeans, "They let ya go though, so it couldn't have been that bad."

"Are you kidding?! Knowing Max, I'd have bet a million bucks he'd wet himself!" A big, muscular boy with pitch-black from behind them chuckled as he sat beside them, "I'm just kidding, but for real, what the hell did you do?"

The girl frowned, "Way to be supportive, Tom."

Tom shrugged, "Meek, you're being to serious. Lighten up a little! I'm sure Max didn't do anything wrong, it was just a mix-up, wasn't it, Max?"

Max shook his head, "No, they were looking for me."

"Whoa! Seriously?!"

"I saw this guy... Delsin was his name... and they asked me about him..."

Meek leaned forward, "Delsin Rowe?!"

"Yeah... why?"

"Delsin Rowe almost destroyed Seattle!"

"What?!"

"He's a conduit! Ya remember that guy that was all over the news a couple years ago, Cole McGrath?"

"Oh yeah! I remember now, they have some kind of matter... manipulation powers?"

Tom got excited, "Dude, could you imagine if we had powers like that?! That would be so awesome!"

"Yeah, unless ya blow up a city! There is such a thing as too much power."

"I wouldn't blow up a city, I'd be freaking super hero! Max thinks that it'd be cool, too, don't you, Max?"

Max shrugged, "I wouldn't have to go to school anymore..."

Meek nodded, "Amen to that."

Tom lost his enthusiasm, "What's wrong with school?!"

Max laughed, "There's nothing wrong with school, Tom. We all know how much you like learning cool stuff. It's just that me and Meek aren't big thinkers like you are."

Meek nodded, "Yeah. I know how to grow my own food and weave my own clothes. I don't really need to know much more, do I?"

Tom was at a loss, "But what if you could grow super-food because you use a certain fertilizer, or what if you could make your clothes bulletproof by using a fabric laced with a non-Newtonian liquid? Or what if-"

Max patted Tom's back, "See what I mean, Tom? Neither of us ever would've thought of something like that. Out of the three of us, you're the genius. I'm the rebellious one who has the ideas, Meek helps us go through with our crazy ideas by keeping us from chickening out, and you're the one who figures out how it's all going to work. It's why we make such a good team."

Meek pointed, "Whoa, check it out, a shooting star!"

Tom frowned, "In the middle of the day?"

Max got up, "That's not a star, run!"

They took off as the light grew larger and larger, until it finally caught up with them. The massive light crashed directly into Max, who had been running the fastest.

* * *

><p>Max shook himself awake, starting to grow irritated by passing out. He looked at his body, finding that he was dressed in an orange jump suit. Looking around, he was on the inside of a concrete cell. He instantly started to tremble, the tightness of the room causing his claustraphobia to go nuts. "And to think, I gave you a chance."<p>

Max looked up to see agent Deacon, "Agent Deacon! Where am I?! Let me out of here!"

Deacon's lip curled, "I gave you the chance to turn yourself in, and you ignored it. Now, you're going to sit there and wait like a good boy while our boys figure out how to builld you a more permanent cell. We'll talk about your sentancing after that... conduit." With that, Deacon began to walk away.

"Conduit?! Wait! Deacon!" Max started panicking. He felt like the walls were closing in on him. His lungs weren't getting enough air. He hit the bars, "Let me out! I'm not a conduit!"

After a few moments of banging at the bars, a girl in a red dress with scarlett hair walked into his view, "You are the one they found near the school, aren't you?"

Max was to terrified to think straight, the pretty girl might as well have been an ugly man, "Who cares?! Let me out of here! I can't take it anymore!"

The girl looked at the bars, "I can't break you out. If I did, I'd be discovered. You have to free yourself."

"Please! I'm begging you, let me out!"

"Calm yourself. You can do this on your own. Just let your instincts guide you. Follow them to freedom. I'll help you once you escape, but once you get out of that cell, look for a big, purple crystal. You'll know what to do when you touch it. Goodbye, Max."

In the blink of an eye, she vanished from sight. Max took a step back. Trust his instincts? Every instinct in his body told him to run for his life. To charge straight at the bars of his cell and break out of the cell. But that was impossible, right? To hell with it. If he spent anymore time in that room, he was going to die of a heart attack. He closed his eyes and ran as fast as he could. When he opened them, he was on the other side of the bars, inside the hallway. He was amazed, but since he was still inside a small hallway, he didn't have time to celebrate his victory. He rushed throught the empty hall until he found a door, which he kicked open. Then he felt the wind against his face and he calmed down. Even though he was staring at an empty runway strip in the middle of the ocean, being able to see the sea and the sky caused his heart rate to drop.

Then he noticed the brigade of armed soldiers pointing guns at him. He held his hands up, "P-Please! I didn't do anything! I swear!"

"I care to differ. Put your weapons away." Deacon stepped forward, "Son, you're currently escaping custody of the United States military. That's a crime."

Max was starting to panic again, "P-Please! I didn't know! I'm claustrophobic! I just needed to get some air! I thought I was going to die!"

Deacon looked Max over, "Then put these on." He held out a pair of handcuffs.

Max put them on, "S-See? I was just afraid, was all. I wasn't trying to go anywhere, I was just having a panic attack."

Deacon nodded slowly, "As of this moment, I'm going to believe you. The second I see a shadow of a reason to doubt you, you're going back in that cell. Understood?"

Max nodded, "Y-Yes, sir! S-So why am I here...?"

"Because you're a conduit."

"B-But I don't have any powers... I never have... how could I be a conduit?"

Deacon patted Max's shoulder, "I think I misjudged you, Max. Being a conduit isn't a choice, it's a genetic thing. You can't control it. It's no different from the fact you have blue eyes."

"Blue eyes don't get you arrested..."

"About that... it's nothing personal. You see, some conduits have a lot more power than one person should have. And some of them are willing to put everything else beneath them and destroy whatever they please. I read your file, Max. You seem like a good kid, even though you have a naughty streak in you. Those pranks you pulled at school... they're something else. Filling a classmate's car with ketchup... I'm not even sure I want to know how you did it. Of course, this was the same student that was stealing money from the cafeteria's cash register. You like to show people who think they're better than everyone else they're just people, don't you?"

Max shrugged, "Well... they are..."

"Ha! I like that! A rebel for justice!"

"Ha... thanks..."

Deacon sighed, "You know what? I think we can help each other."

"Help each other?"

"Yeah. The conduits I told you about, the bad ones. Some of the brightest lab boys I know have been working on a way to neutralize the conduit gene. They say all they need it is a conduit to run some tests on. Maybe if I tell them you'll cooperate, they'll let you try out the treatments they have. That way, you can go back to your normal life and we can take care of the bad conduits that are running around causing trouble. That sound good?"

Max thought about it, "I-I could go home?"

"Yeah."

"Like nothing ever happened?"

"Hell, kid, you'd be a national hero who contributed to stopping the criminal conduit menace."

Max smiled, "That... sounds good. When can I see the lab boys?"

Deacon pulled out his phone, "I'll call them now." The phone rang and Deacon spoke with a bright tone, "Hey! You owe me twenty bucks! I told you he was a bright kid! Yeah, he said he'd do it! I'll see you soon, then!"

"You... knew I wouldn't hurt anyone?"

Deacon hung up the phone, "Course I did! I just have to prove to my superiors that you're not dangerous. Listen, I understand that your a person, even though you're a conduit. But when it comes to national security, it takes more than my gut to make a call."

"So... how long have I been out for?"

"A day. Don't worry, we contacted your parents and they know what happened. We told them you'd be in our custody until further notice. Since you're on our side, you want me to see if I can get them on the phone so you can talk to them?"

"Y-Yeah... that'd be nice."

"At ease, soldiers! This one's a friendly!"

The soldiers put their weapons away and greeted him one at a time. Max had never felt so welcome in his life. After they all shook his hand, a familiar figure stepped through the crowd. It was the girl in the scarlett dress, "You didn't listen to my advice."

"You visited me in my cell!"

Deacon raised his eyebrow, "Oh...? Does our Flora have a crush on a certain conduit?"

Flora crossed her arms, "I wanted to see what he could do, so I left a blast shard in the hallway, but he ran right past it."

"Flora, you didn't know if he was a friendly or not at that point."

"I could've taken him."

Max raised his hand, "Question: what's a blast shard?"

Flora held out a purple crystal the size of a potato, "this is. It'll enhance your abilities as a conduit."

Deacon didn't seem happy, "Flora!"

Flora shrugged, "What? if he's going to be part of the group, he has to be as strong as the rest of us. I'm just helping him along."

Deacon sighed, "Fine. Give him the shard."

Max looked at it, "Um... what am I supposed to do with this?"

Flora shrugged, "Whatever you did to get out of your cell."

"I was having a panic attack..."

"Then think about how afraid you were. Think about your fear."

Max raised his eyebrow, "Seriously?"

"Do it."

Max closed his eyes and imagined the cell. The walls closing in. His breath fading. His heart beating until it was ready to burst. Then he felt a surge of energy course through his body. When he opened his eyes, he was ten feet above the ship, his blonde hair flying up as he floated back down onto the deck. He looked at his legs to see they weren't damaged, "What... the hell... was that?!"

Scarlett nodded, "Your power. You can manipulate air."

"Manipulate... air?"

"Try jumping."

Max jumped, a sudden gust of wind launching him through the air. When he landed, his heart was racing, "That... is... awesome!"

Scarlett raised her eyebrow, "You think that's impressive? Wait until you get some REAL powers."

Max was leaping through the air, "Whooooooooooooooohoooooooooooooo!"

Deacon smiled, "Looks like we got a lively one here!"

Scarlett looked at Deacon, "I get the feeling he doesn't know all the details."

"Let him live a little while he can. He's got a long, hard road ahead of him."

"You've got that right."


	2. A Small Gust

Max looked at the skyscraper, having lived in rural Texas forever, the buildings that were all over made him feel small. Deacon looked up at it with him, "And that's not even the tallest building in New York."

Max marvelled at it, "The view from the top must be incredible..."

"Well, we won't see it standing around here all day!"

Max let Deacon lead him to the elevator, where he and Flora entered. Deacon pressed a button, "Before we get to the roof, Max, there's one more kid who signed on with us. He's a bit of a slacker, but if you ever really need help, he's got your back. His name's Leo."

"What's his power?"

Flora smirked, "Leo can manipulate pure iron."

Max whispered into Deacon's ear, "Why does she seam so happy about that?"

"Because she can beat him. Easily." Deacon whispered back.

When the elevator doors opened, Max saw a boy his age, tall and thin, wearing a lab coat, jeans, and a pair of shades. He was most likely sleeping as he was leaning back until the elevator made a 'ding' sound, at which point he jerked forward. The only think lighter than his pale skin was his paper-white hair. He stood up, "Sup, Deacon?"

Deacon frowned, "Have you been doing your work, Leo?"

Leo nodded, "Of course! Don't I always?"

"No."

"Ouch. So who's the new guy?"

Max nodded, "I'm Max."

"Max? Nice name. I'm betting Flora couldn't stop talking about me on your boat ride here?"

Flora smiled, "The only portion of the trip that involved you was the part where we left you. Honestly, I think it was the best part of the trip."

"Wow, a double whammy... so, Max, what can you do?"

"Um... air manipulation, apparently."

"For reals?! No joke?!"

"Y-Yeah, for reals."

"Lucky! You know how much air there is on this planet?!"

"A lot?"

"Yeah! Do you know how hard it is to find iron?!"

"N-No..."

"It's freaking impossible unless you take all the concrete out of a building first or you wreck a car!"

Deacon cleared his throat, "Ahem! Since the three of you have met, I want all of you to meet the geneticist in charge of the project."

The elevator opened, revealing a tiny woman with a blonde bun in a business suit. Max's jaw dropped, "Misses Shay?!"

Mrs. Shay was just as surprised, "Max?! What are you doing here?!"

"I'm a conduit! What are _you_ doing here?!"

"I'm the geneticist in charge! Where have you been?! Tom has been worried sick about you!"

Max was NOT expecting to see his best friend's mother, "I didn't get the chance to call!"

Deacon stepped in, "I see that you already know each other. Good. Mrs. Shay will be using the blood samples we took on the boat. Guess we have introductions out of the way. Max, we need to get you up to speed with the others."

"Up to speed?"

Mrs. Shay nodded, "Yes. The tougher a sample we have to work with, the stronger the cure will be."

"Okay... so do I just need more of those shard fragments?"

Deacon frowned, "If it were that simple, we'd have done that already. The thing about the shard fragments is that there aren't that many left. most of them have been absorbed by conduits already."

"So how are we going to find the ones that are left?"

"Well... according to a source that seems to have the top info on the conduit criminals. According to them, the criminals have been hunting down other conduits and have been sucking the energy from the shards out of them."

"That... sounds brutal."

"Normally, it is. But we have the technology here with the lab boys to do it without harming the conduits."

"I like that plan better."

Mrs. Shay nodded, "Just bring them back here and we'll be able to disarm them safely and painlessly. Once they're neutralized, we'll release the civilians and put the criminals in jail."

Deacon pulled out a file, "We've picked out a target for you already. He's probably not aware that he's a conduit, seeing as he tried to sell a blast shard until it 'mysteriously vanished'. Tell him that we found his stolen property and we want to return it to him. Piece of cake."

Max looked at the picture and the address, "Wait... by myself?"

Flora stepped forward, "I'll be going with you to make sure you don't mess up."

Max nodded, "Okay."

"Think fast." She pushed him off the edge of the building. Max screamed for a minute as he plummeted towards the ground. After that, he got a litteral second wind that shot from his hands and helped him float gently down to the ground.

His heart was still racing when he touched the ground, "Holy cow... that just happened..."

Flora stood beside him, "Good job not dying."

"Did you just push me off the roof?!"

"C'mon, we have a conduit to find."

* * *

><p>Max looked at the man, "<em>That's<em> a conduit?"

Flora shrugged, "We can't all be grand."

Max sighed, "Ugh... I can smell the sweat from here..."

"Your new air abilities allow you to feel the differences in the air much better."

"God... I wish I could just send him a text."

Flora crossed her arms, "Unless you have a better idea of how to get the blast shard out of him."

"... Wait... the blast shards, they're just energy, right?"

"Yes."

"Aren't there like, chemical process in the body that make pure oxygen?"

"Yes... but what if you kill him?"

The fat man got up and began throwing tables, "Don't have a choice anymore! Gotta go!" Max rushed into the McDonald's and held his hands up, "Calm down, Hank! Just calm down!"

The fat man picked up a chair, "Eat shit!"

Max phased through the chair and kicked the fat man, "Hank, I'm giving you one last chance!"

Hank threw Max, "Back out of this, kid!"

Max jumped to his feet as winds swirled around his bruises, "Ow... now you're asking for it!"

Hank picked up a table, "Shut up!"

It wasn't long, with his incredible speed, Max unleashed a flury of punches until Hank was out cold. Max panted, "Fat bastard..."

Flora pointed at the lump of flesh, "How do you plan to get power out of that?"

Max inhaled, his lungs starting to well up with a cool feeling, "I think... I already am... AGH!"

Max felt another surge of energy as he took a deep breath. After a flash, he threw his hands forward and a blast of air cleared the path in front of him. Flora raised her eyebrow, "It seems your theory had some merit..."

Max smiled, "How many other conduits are around this city?"

Flora frowned, "Don't take this lightly. This one was weak. If you meet up with one who's stronger than you are-"

"I'll have back up. That's why you're here right? And since my back doesn't hurt, I'm guessing the air is healing me. I'm too fast to get hit half the time and the other half the time I'm healed up enough that the damage doesn't hurt me. Unless I start drowning, I'm pretty sure I'll be fine."

"There's only one other place where conduits gather. And they aren't civilian conduits."

"They criminals?"

"Only the ones we've managed to keep eyes on. No more than one or two blast shards apiece."

"That would mean they're a bunch of wimps... what aren't you telling me?"

"..."

"There's a bigger one, isn't there?"

"..."

Max nodded, "There's one that has a lot more than the rest. I'm guessing that he's the leader of the group and that he's why you haven't gone to collect the shards from the weaklings yet..."

Flora gave him a serious glare, "I won't take you there."

Max saw a man running through the crowd in front of the McDonald's... a man with a cold aura around him. Max smiled, "Fair enough." Then he charged past Flora.

* * *

><p>The group of hooded men and women gathered around a fire, all of them chanting in that subway tunnel. Max watched from a distance as the cool air gathered around the flames. They weren't anything great, but there were quite a few of them. Then he felt it... a presence that made all the air in the room cool by a few degrees. It was a man with a skull tattooed onto his face. He stood over the fire and smiled, "So... how was your day, my bretheran?! I hope you all lived like kings, because that's what you are! Your powers, OUR powers, they make us so much more than these stupid humans that think they're better than us. It does my heart so good to see so many of you here today. Think, soon enough, we'll have enough to begin our conquest! First, this city, then, this state! And we won't stop until the whole world is ours!"<p>

Max walked out from behind the wall he was hiding behind, "The world?"

The man nodded, "Ah, I see we have a new conduit brother with us tonight! I am brother Jacob. And you are?"

"I'm Max."

"Max. We welcome you. Tell us, are you ready to use your powers to dominate the ignorant and rule the stupid?"

"Just so I get this straight, you just use your powers as you please, right?"

Jacob shrugged, "It is our right. A genetic gift from God. To hide it and pretend to be 'human' would shame God. Tell me, brother, do you wish to shame God?"

Max shrugged, "No, not really."

"Then brother, step forward and simply join us. The fire will warm you."

Max stood by the fire, seeing that it was the only light in the room, "Don't mind if I do. I think it's about time I used my powers to their full potential." The fire was blown out in an instant. A few minutes later, it was relit by Max, who had just dropped a match. He inhaled deeply and felt his power double as their power flowed into his body, "That felt good."

Jacob's face curled into a snarl, "I see. Your ambition is admirable, but foolish." The fire flew to Jacob's hand, "Prepare to die!"

Max blew a gust of wind from his mouth that turned into a small tornado which threw the flames from Jacob's hand, then punched him in the face... repeatedly. Jacob, despite his supperior firepower, was easily taken down as Max simply sucked in all the oxygen the fire needed in order to burn. When Max finally sucked the power out of Jacob, he felt a very powerful shiver go down his spine.

He was a little worried at that point.

Mostly because he liked how it felt.

* * *

><p>Deacon was pissed, "What do you mean he got away from you?!"<p>

Flora had been trying to explain how she had lost Max for nearly three hours, "He dashed off and I lost him."

"If he's hurt..."

"If who's hurt?"

Deacon did a one-eighty, "Max! Where have you been?!"

Max dropped Jacob, who had been slung over his shoulder, "I brought you a present."

"Is that Jacob Masters?!"

"Yeah. He had fifty followers who like to gather around a fire."

"Dr. Shay, get that DNA splicer ready!"

"No need. I already got the power out of them."

"You what?!"

"It must be carried in their blood. The blood goes to the lungs, I guess I can pick it off the blood with a little air-mojo."

Dr. Shay was excited, "Really?! If that's so, then it would further our theories and advance our research a ton!"

Max smiled, "Oh, I'm pretty sure it works. Check this out." Max held out his hand and created a small fire tornado, "The tornados aren't that powerful yet, but they can keep fire away or draw it in. And I'm not sure how, but Jacob here must've passed me a little fire power. Not much, but I can work with it."

Dr. Shay examined the criminal closely, "If his blood somehow moved through the air and entered your bloodstream, it's possible you got some of his DNA, and therefore, his powers!"

Max looked at Deacon, "Am I still in trouble for not calling?"

Deacon sighed, "Only if you do it again. This is your last warning. You go anywhere without Flora or Leo again, and I'll find a chair that I can tie you to, got it?"

Max nodded, "Got it. Do you want the other criminals, too?"

Deacon shook his head, "Of course you rounded up the other criminals..."

Max smiled, "This is going to be fun..."


	3. The Calm Before the Storm

"It figures that my internship program with my mom would lead to you..." Tom rubbed his temples, "So... let me get this straight... YOU took down a small army of conduits?"

Max nodded, "Oh yeah. They were mostly low-level copied powers, but then again, I was new at it."

"You? The guy I've been protecting from guys half my size for about four years now?"

"Will you forget football for a second?! This is freaking awesome!"

"Most people don't say that when they get hit by an object falling from space."

Max shrugged, "Okay, so that really hurt... a lot. But I didn't die! Who knew Delsin had a blast shard on him when he fell?"

Tom shook his head, "My mom said it was pure luck you beat that Jacob guy."

"Well... yeah... it might've been... a little lucky... that fire needs air to burn..."

"You didn't think about that at all, did you?"

"N-No..."

"So you could've just as easily gotten yourself killed?"

"W-Well... I still _could _have won... maybe..."

"Dude... I know you like to go with the flow... but if you keep pushing your luck, you're going to die."

Max frowned, "You're right... again..."

Tom patted his back, "Don't beat yourself up. You've got power now. Power like you've never had before. It's natural for you to think you're bulletproof. Just remember, Max, there are a bunch of people out there who've been bulletproof a lot longer than you have."

Max nodded, "Thanks Tom."

"No problem. I'm going to help you with this stuff from now on, okay? Since you'll listen to me and I know a couple things. We'll make a good team."

"We usually do."

* * *

><p>Max frowned, "Tom, this is a stupid idea and I don't want to do it."<p>

"Hey! You're the one who took out all the known conduits in the area! You want new powers? This is your best shot to draw them in."

"I'm going to look like an idiot."

"A super-powered idiot. It's a step up from a normal idiot."

"Tom. Not helping."

"Sorry. Look, if I had a better idea, I'd tell you. Wouldn't I?"

Max sighed, "Yeah... you would."

"Then just do it already!"

Max pushed the handle on the gas canisters. Then he took in a deep breath and launched himself into the air. The helium tank he'd just hit allowed him to sail high enough that he could be seen by the four news helicopters that were passing by. He pushed out some hydrogen from the second tank he'd opened and threw a spark out. Let's just say the phoenix flashing in front of them got their attention.

Max tried to bellow out his message, but it's hard to do that when you sound like an animated chipmunk, "This is a message to all criminal conduits! You may be different, set apart from those around you, but you have no right to take from them or hurt them! You aren't above them just because you're stronger than they are! You're giving conduits everywhere a bad name and I'm not going to stand for it! This is a personal message: if you're a criminal conduit, you can run and hide all you want, but know that I'm coming for you!"

* * *

><p>Back on the roof, Deacon was losing his mind, "What the hell do you think you're doing?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"<p>

Max shrugged, "What? Now that every criminal conduit out there knows my face, they'll either run in terror or try to take me out when they see me. Either way, that puts them out in the open, right? Then we can track them down. This'll make rounding up the criminals a lot easier, won't it?"

Flora rubbed her chin, "Assuming you don't get killed in the process."

Leo chuckled, "That was hilarious!"

Deacon put his finger in Max's face, "Max, it's my job to keep you safe and strong. I don't compromise one for the other and neither do you. If you ever do anything like that again, I'm going to make sure you get cured and then I'm sending you home faster than you can say 'oops'."

Max held his hands up, "Sorry. You're right. I should have asked you first. I won't make a mistake like that again."

Deacon held his glare for a moment, "That said, we have work to do. Your little stunt just riled up every small-time conduit criminal out there. Thieves, robbers, muggers, you name a misdemeanor, there's a low-level conduit out there up to it. Since you're the one who started this mess, I expect you to clean it up. Leo and Flora will be watching in case something goes wrong, but don't expect them to defend you just because they're supposed to watch you. You're a conduit too, so you can take a good beating before you need help."

Max nodded, "Consider it done."

* * *

><p>Twenty street-thugs later, Max called Tom, "It's official... *pant, pant* your plan sucks... and I'm tired of getting shot at... and getting shot..."<p>

Tom felt a little bad on the other end, "Hey, you've been tracking down a bunch of those guys, haven't you? You can't tell me you haven't been getting any stronger."

Max took a deep breath, then his eyes lit up, "Whoa... Tom... I think my fire powers just a got a little more explosive."

"Fire? I thought you had air powers?"

"I don't know how all this works, but it's one or the other. Only reason I could do that phoenix thing is because I only needed a spark. If I'd needed to control the fire and the air, I'd have been in trouble."

"So right now, on a scale of one to ten, where would you put your powers at?"

"One to ten? I'd put air at about a six. Fire at a two."

"Six and two? Those are low numbers..."

"What? Are you kidding me? I took down sixty people, one that was a conduit on steroids! I'm doing pretty good!"

"Don't get a big head, there are still people out there with more power than you."

"I know, I know... please tell me this is the last guy on a spree today."

"I'm checking the police scanner now and... there's one more. Huh, that's weird."

"What's up?"

"The police keep reporting that these guys are getting the crap beat out of them, but that's it. They still have money, they're not dead... oh... oh god..."

"What?"

"Looks like our criminal has a thing for retribution. Turns out all our victims? Are convicted rapists."

"I'm surprisingly okay with that. They deserve a beat down."

"Let's just say they aren't going to be convicted again anytime soon."

"You mean-"

"Ripped off."

"Oh... god... that's not right."

"Yeah. I hate rapists as much as the next guy, but that's a little extreme. I'll see what details I can get from the police through Deacon's connections. We need to get this guy off the streets."

"Probably not a guy. I can't see a guy being able to do that to another guy. I'm pretty sure I'd be sick if I had to do that."

"Good point. I'll focus on female suspects. In the meantime, watch your back. You may not be a rapist, but whatever you did sparked this conduit's fire. Now they're on the loose and they mean business."

"Okay, I'll lay low and..." Max felt a huge gust of cold wind go by, "... Tom... you wouldn't happen to know if there were any really big blast shards nearby, would you?"

"Um... not right now, but there's a shard radar somewhere around here, why?"

"I think... I can feel one nearby."

"Really? You can feel it?"

"Well... conduits have this like... cold air about them. Maybe blast shards are colder too?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but if you think you can find one, go for it. A complete blast shard would probably be a big boost."

Max rushed to where the wind was coming from and saw his prize atop the roof, "Dude... it's as big as a knife! It looks like it's just stuck in the wall!"

"Not to sound mean, but this sounds like a trap."

"Trap or not, I'm grabbing that thing!" Max jumped up and held it in his hands, "Well... I haven't been shot at yet. So which should I go with? Air or fire?"

"You can switch just like that?"

"No, but I got a matchbox and some free oxygen to work with."

"Go with fire. It seems like you've got the hang of air already."

Max lit a match, breathed on it, and sucked in the flames, "Alright, let's see what this baby can do." Max absorbed the shard and then passed out. A little later he stood up, "Oh... dude... I don't think that was a blast shard..."

"Max?! Are you okay?! You weren't responding!"

Max lit his hands ablaze, "Oh... I'm way better than okay... do you have eyes in the sky?"

"Yeah! You've been out of touch with us for two hours now! We thought you'd been kidnapped!"

Max climbed to the rooftop and looked over the edge, "Just watch this, it's worth the wait." With a running start, Max leaped off the roof as fire shot from his hands, propelling him through the sky, "WHOA! THIS IS AWESOME!"

"MAX IS THAT YOU FLYING?!"

"HELL YEAH IT IS!"

"HOW DID YOU GET YOUR HANDS ON THAT MUCH FIRE?!"

"I DIDN'T! WHATEVER THAT THING WAS, IT'S TURNED FIRE UP A NOTCH!"

"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WHEN YOU RUN OUT OF FIRE?!"

Max felt the importance of the question grow as he began to fall, "THIS IS GONNA HURT!"

* * *

><p>Tom slapped the back of Max's head, "You're lucky you crashed into a condemned bomb factory."<p>

Max rubbed the back of his head, "That hurt more than the crash..."

"Good, you need to remember that you can still be hurt."

"Okay, okay... so what did you find out about our rapist mugger?"

"Whoever she is, she's been busy. I checked her victim list and it's every convicted rapist for three miles in alphabetical order."

"Sheesh, this chick's got a lot of..." He shivered, "...guts."

"Nice choice of words. Anyway, it looks like she has a pattern. Every two hours, from nine A.M. to five P.M, she takes another one off the list."

"So she's got a schedule?"

"And a tight one. She never sticks around for longer than a few minutes and then she's gone. Nobody has seen her face, not even her victims."

"This is one hard-ass chick. Hold up... you said she was going down the list alphabetically?"

"Yeah... which probably means she has the same list I do."

"Where'd you get that list from?"

"Local police. Which would mean our culprit is probably someone who's in the police force! Good thinking, Max!"

"Had to do at some point."

Tom began typing into his laptop, "According to the database... the next target it Alphonso Alvarez."

"Guess I know who I'm tailing tomorrow at eight thirty."

* * *

><p>Max sighed, "Hey, Tom... you'll give me an alibi if I beat the crap out of this guy, right?"<p>

"What happened to being the better person?" Tom inquired.

"Yeah, I've seen him slap two women, punch a guy while his 'bodyguards' held him in place, and then he just keeps eating. Personal vendetta be damned, _I_ wanna kick this guy in the nuts."

"Max, calm down. He's a crime lord, but he's not a conduit. We can't bring him in."

"I'm pretty sure I want to hand him over to a certain police officer..."

"No. Don't joke like that. Besides, even if the police _did_ get their hands on him, they don't have enough evidence to convict."

"What kind of business does this guy run, anyway?"

"Alvarez sells whatever drug is out on the street. You name it, he sells it, and lots of it."

"Can I just wait for the next rapist?"

"No! Listen, we're here to deal with the conduit first! She's a bigger threat than he is! If she decides to go on a murderous rage and he does, who's gonna kill more people before they're stopped?"

Max thought about it, "... Me."

"Max... you know that's not what I meant. You don't kill people. This chick doesn't care if she does. Neither does Alvarez, but we can't get Alvarez yet. Alvarez will dig his own grave soon enough when someone wants his business. Aside from you, there's nothing that's going to stop this conduit. It's up to you, Max. You have to do what's right."

Max looked at the door and saw a small girl in a police uniform walk in, along with a familiar cold breeze. Max got up from the table he'd been sitting at, took out his earwig, and walked in front of the girl. Her hair and her eyes matched her blue uniform, so he decided it would be best to smile and go along with it, "Hey, it's you!"

She seemed surprised, "Do I know you...?"

Max leaned a little closer and pointed at his face. For a split second, he let the tip of his finger catch fire, "Remember me now?"

Her eyes went wide as she whispered, "What are you doing here?!"

Max pulled her by the arm out of the door and into a nearby alley, "I could ask you the same thing. Who are you and why are you targeting rapists?"

She seemed even more surprised, "You... knew it was me?"

"Someone who fits your exact description."

"... Then you should know... you stood up, and told the world you were a conduit. You're not afraid to be who you are. To do what's right!"

"Ripping people's... parts off isn't exactly right."

"Do you know who that man is? What he's done?!"

"Yeah. I do."

"Then you know what he deserves!"

Max bit his lip. Deep in his heart, he knew he didn't want that man to walk out of that room, "What's your name?"

"What?"

"Your name. What's your name?"

"Tera..."

"Tera, everything you just said to me about what you did? I didn't hear it, okay? I work for the government, and I'm pretty sure that you're not a psychopath, so I'm going to cut you a break."

"How do you know I'm not a psychopath?"

Max looked deep into her eyes, "The way you look right now. The way your lip trembled when you asked me that. If you were just a heartless psychopath, you wouldn't have those things. You wouldn't worry that you were becoming a psychopath."

"How can you say that...? I killed people..."

Max knew exactly where she was at, "Because they hurt you, didn't they? I don't know exactly what they did, but they took something from you. Something you can't get back. You just wish you could watch their world burn, don't you?"

Tera took a step back, "H-How do you know that?"

Max looked at his shoes...

... it was just like before. He had a choice to make.

He put the earwig back into his ear, "Tom? I need a favor."

Tom didn't sound happy, "Max... please tell me you found the conduit."

Max thought hard about what he was going to say. Then he said it.

* * *

><p><strong>(Alright, peeps, time for a YOU to take the wheel! At points like this, I'm gonna write two chapters! One for good and one for evil! I'll write out the chapter names for the choices below so you know what you're getting into! Note: this will also apply to the ending.)<strong>

**(P.S.: If I get enough reviews leaning towards a certain chapter, I might make that chapter the official one. I'll leave the other up, but I'd still like to know what you guys want! Okay, I'm done.)**

* * *

><p>GOOD KARMA: Max asks Tom to help him track down evidence to bring Alvarez down and redeem Tera, channeling her anger. (Next chapter)<p>

EVIL KARMA: Max convinces Tom to dig up info on Alvarez so that he can help Tera hunt her demons down and burn them to Hell. (Chapter after next)


	4. Redeem Tera

Max sighed, "Listen, I found her, but before you call the military, I need you to hear me out."

Tom wasn't thrilled, "WHAT?! Are you kidding me?!"

"Just hold on, okay? She's not insane, she just... is hurt okay? You remember how I was hurt?"

Tom sighed, "Max, that's not-"

"Not the same? How? Tom, come on. You and I both know what happens to people who get hurt like that. They either become cops or killers."

"You weren't so keen on being either."

"Hell no, I was gonna be a spy."

"Max..."

"Tom, please. Just... tell us where Alvarez keeps his dirt. I swear, we'll bring him in and then she won't have to kill him. Isn't that a good solution?"

"What about those people she hospitalized?"

"Tom, she has the same look in her eyes I did."

"... You sure?"

"That's not something you forget."

"... *sigh*... Fine. According to the information from his last trial, Alvarez's house was the only place the cops couldn't legally search. If his operation is really that big, he has to keep something that's incriminating there."

"Thank you. You're the best, Tom."

"Just don't get caught, okay? Alvarez isn't known for being forgiving."

Max looked at Tera, "Okay, I got an idea. You want to watch Alvarez's world fall apart, right?"

Tera nodded, "More than anything!"

"Then we're going to do this right. If we wound his body, we've done nothing. Painkillers could have this guy out and about before the year's over. But if we get him busted? Everything. Everything he's worked for his entire life is gone. All his fears come crashing down at once. His name means nothing. He'll die in a cell while we're out working on the next target. You want him to suffer? Death's too easy. Make his life hell. That way he gets a little extra time before he dies and burns in hell for real."

Tera thought it over, "... Alright. Let's do it."

"Good to have you on the team, Tera. Before we do this, I gotta ask, what's your power?"

Tera held out her hands, causing water to fall out of one palm and vanish into another, "Water."

Max smiled, "Sounds good. Let's go blow off some steam."

* * *

><p>Tera yawned, "Why couldn't we have done this earlier? I'm tired..."<p>

Max removed the binoculars from his face and raised his eyebrow, "You're tired? At 10 P.M.?"

"What? I go to bed at 9:30."

"Wow. I... didn't expect that."

"There's nothing wrong with having a schedule."

"Don't you ever... do something random? Just have fun for a little too long or stay up watching a movie?"

"No."

"Oh... I get it. All work and no play?"

"I'm not dull."

"Never said you were."

"You said you knew what I was going through, yet you and I are so different..."

"My sister was kidnapped when I was six and... we never got her back. When I was seven, I shot a guy who took my mom hostage. When I was twelve, I stabbed a guy who was trying to stick a gun in my dad's face. And most recently, I paralyzed a bank robber who tried to threaten my best friends' lives. It feels good to know you put down people who want to hurt others the way someone hurt you, doesn't it?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"... Then you look at yourself in the mirror and you wonder if you did the right thing. It eats at you, like a cancer. There's only two way to dull the pain. One, keep putting them down until all you can feel is the rush, or two, atone for what you've done and learn how to do it the right way."

"... Is that why you joined the government? To do things the right way?"

"Hell no. I joined them because I don't like super-jail and I happened to bump into Delsin Rowe."

"Didn't Delsin Rowe save Seattle from the D.U.P. and expose that Augustine chick?"

"Yeah, but he also led the biggest conduit breakout in history. Let's just say that not all of them were upstanding citizens."

"Ah. I see. You just kind of go where the wind blows you, don't you?"

"You have no idea. Alright, the live-in hit men are asleep and the guards just shifted patrol. You can get inside through the plumbing, right?"

"Yeah. How are you going to get in?"

"Mavlov cocktail."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Well, not by throwing one at the house, but yeah, that's how I'm getting in. AND DON'T KILL ANYONE. Super jail sucks, and most prisoners don't stick to schedules."

"I got it, already. See you inside."

Max touched his ear, "Tom, are the fireworks in place?"

Tom shuddered, "Yes. Next time you want fireworks up a tree, do it yourself. You have no idea how dirty it is out here."

"Sorry. I had to make sure they didn't take anything out and keep eyes on Tera."

"I know why you needed me to do it. Just don't need me in the future."

"I'll always need you, Tom."

"That sounded creepy."

"It sounded a lot better in my head. I'll give you the signal to call the police when we're ready."

"Okay, just, don't die, alright?"

"Got it. See you soon." Max let his finger off the earwig and pointed his hand at the fourth tree from his left, "Light 'em up."

* * *

><p>Max coughed as he stepped out of the fireplace, "That could have gone better."<p>

Tera had her arms crossed, "Your plan was to make as much noise as possible using fireworks?"

"Hey, I got in without being seen, didn't I?"

"Let's just hurry up and find something we can use to bring this guy down."

Max started going through the desk, "Yeah, yeah."

Tera stopped for a moment after combing the bookcase, "You never asked me..."

"What?"

"You never asked me why I... why I did what I did."

Max shrugged, "That's your story to share."

"But you told me your story, aren't you curious?"

"I am."

"Why can't guys just ask for what they want?"

"They don't want to force people to bend to their will. If they really want to do something, they will."

Tera frowned, "I-It was my mom... the person who got hurt."

Max stopped for a second, "I think I can guess what happened to her."

"S-She couldn't live with it. It was like the life was just sucked out of her... then she decided to stop living..."

Max hugged her, "It's okay. Let it out."

Tera pushed her eyes into his shoulder and let her tears out, "Why...? Why would anyone do that...?"

Max held her tight, "Because some people are cruel. They don't care about anyone but themselves. That's why God made people like us. People who put the bad guys away, so that they can rot in the bed they made. They think they can get away with it, but they're wrong. We're going to show them that. Starting with Alvarez."

Tera wiped her eyes and nodded, "Yeah... thanks."

Max smiled, "No problem. Hm?" Max noticed a piece of paper sticking out of the back of the bookshelf and pulled it out, "Dry-Dock Marina? Owned and run by... Alvarez."

Tera looked at the paper, "Yes! This is it! We got him now!"

An alarm went off as red light filled the room, "We should go now."

* * *

><p>Max panted as he stood over the trash-can fire, "Ow... who shoots at a hand?"<p>

Tera grimaced, "I'm sorry... I just got excited..."

"It's fine. I checked with my friend, he says that there are a bunch of boat coming into the marina tonight. All of the owners are shell companies. Bet you five bucks I know who REALLY owns those companies."

"Alvarez."

"You feel like robbing a drug ship?"

Tera shrugged, "I _have_ always wanted to be a pirate..."

"Then let's be devils and black sheep."

"And really bad eggs?"

They sang the last part together, _"~Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!~"  
><em>

* * *

><p>Max put the last gunner to sleep for the night, "Alright, Tera, coast is clear. Where did you find that?"<p>

Tera, now fully decked out in a pirate costume that was less than modest, shrugged, "What? If someone sees me, I don't want them to think I'm with the police. If they do, then a bunch of lawyers will rip the case to shreds!"

"No, I got that, that's why I'm wearing a ski mask. But _where_ did you get that?!"

"I made it myself..."

_"Note to self, make sure her badge is not made of cardboard later."_ Max shook his head, "I was just thinking that I could wear one. But that's not important. You sure you can get this hunk of junk onto the docks?"

Tera pointed at the water, "Is that wet?"

Max stepped aside, "Okay. I'm gonna go kick the hornet's nest." Max ran up to the top of the boat and grabbed a barrel of oil. He shoved a rag into the side and lit it, "Bombs away!" He threw it and six more barrels at the harbor, which caused the small army of guys in suits to open fire with their machine guns.

Max jumped off the roof, dodging several bullets, "Okay, Tom, call the police!"

Tom nodded from a car parked far enough away to hear the gunfire, "Already done."

Max pointed at Tera, "Fire the torpedo!"

Tera gathered all her strength and used the water in the bay to create a massive tidal wave that threw the ship onto dry land. The hull of the ship tore open and it looked like snow coated the street. As Tera flew through the sky in Max's arms she was ecstatic, "I did it!"

Max smiled, "Yeah! Way to go, Tera!" Max landed next to Tom's car, "High five?"

Tera slapped his hand, "That... was... awesome!"

Tom opened the door, "Hurry up, it's almost midnight and I want to get some sleep tonight."

Tera threw her arms up, "Who cares?! Did you see that?! That was so cool!"

Max crossed his arms, "Look at you, Miss 'In bed by nine thirty' out breaking the rules to be a midnight vigilante... You'll be a superhero soon enough."

Tera shook her head, "N-No, I don't think I could. I'm terrified of crowds."

_"In that outfit...?"_ Max and Tom looked at each other, then Tom got an idea, "Well, actually, since she is a conduit... she qualifies to work for the government."

Max's eyes went wide, "For real?"

"Yeah."

"How about that? Tera, you ready to make this superhero thing stick?"

Tera bit her lip for a moment, "B-But what about my internship with the police?"

"Internship? Tera, you'll practically BE a police officer!"

She weighed it out in her head for a minute, "And all I have to do is legally register as a conduit?"

Tom nodded, "Just get a checkup and tell them you think you're a conduit. They'll call us and all you have to do is say 'yes' when they offer you a job."

Tera nodded, "Okay, I'm in!"

* * *

><p>Max laid his head against his pillow, "Not bad for a day's work, huh, Tom?"<p>

Tom jumped up to the top bunk, "Not bad at all, Max. I'm surprised you acted so maturely today."

Max thought about it, "Yeah, well... we all have our demons."

"Thanks for not changing, Max. A lot of people wouldn't have done what you did."

"No... but how could I turn my back on you? You've been my best friend longer than I can remember."

"Goodnight, Max."

"Goodnight, Tom."


	5. Corrupt Tera

Max licked his lips, "Tom, she got away. I wasn't fast enough to catch her."

Tom sighed, "Crap... did you see what powers she has?"

"No. I barely saw her make a dash for the alley when she saw me. Listen, I think I know how to lure her out."

"What did you have in mind?"

"See if you can find Alvarez's routine. The sooner the better."

"Okay."

Max pulled out the earwig and pointed at her, "You want revenge? You got it. That scumbag shouldn't get to walk the streets while I throw you in jail. If we get caught, though, I'm going to have to pretend that I'm trying to catch you. I want to see that pig fry."

Tera nodded, "Then let's go in there and-"

"No. Not there. Too many witnesses. We need to get him alone. Then we can make him pay for what he's done."

"T-Thank you."

"Hey... the reason you do this... it's because someone like him hurt someone you cared about, isn't it?"

"Y-Yeah... my mom..."

Max nodded, "It hurts at first. The feeling you get when you hurt them. Doesn't it?"

Tera held her hand over her chest for a second, "Yeah..."

Max put his hand on her shoulder, "Don't let that stop you. Remember what they did. Remember who they hurt. Who they took from you. They're just a cancer that eats away at the purity of life and they need to be eradicated. Don't let your feet get cold, because if you do, he'll be back out on the street before you can blink, doing God knows what."

Tera nodded, "You're right."

Max put his earwig in, "Tom, you got that schedule?"

Tom piped up, "Yeah. He's going to leave the diner in ten minutes and go check his boat in the marina."

"I got a feeling something's going to happen at the marina. Do me a favor, stay away from the marina, Alvarez probably has an army there for security. I can't risk you getting hurt."

Tom sighed, "Fine. But don't do anything stupid okay? Conduits are powerful, but they're people, too. They can get violent and die."

Max got a light bulb moment, "Hey, speaking of conduits, why don't I ever hear about non-criminal conduits?"

"That's because most conduits are worried they'll be branded freaks. If any of them would actually come forward, they'd join the same program you're in. Why? Did you meet a conduit?"

"No, I just thought it was weird, that's all. I'm taking the earwig out now."

"Okay. Bye, Max."

Max put the device in his pocket, "C'mon, Tera. We got a boat to destroy."

* * *

><p>Tera watched Alvarez's car drive into the marina, "Finally. I thought he'd never show up."<p>

Max pointed to his left, "Alright, those guys will shoot at us if they see us. So unless you want to have the government conduit police up your butt, we're going to sneak past them. Hey, now that I think about it, what is your conduit power, anyway?"

"Water."

"Nice. Alright, so you can sneak in through the bay while I... start a little sabotage project."

"What are you going to do?"

"Ever seen those guys that breath fire at the circus?"

"Yeah."

"It's kind of like that, but in reverse."

"What?"

"I'm going to throw a grenade at the ship, then use the fire to pull myself onto the boat."

"You can do that?"

"Yeah, check it." Max got out of the car and grabbed a grenade from under the seat, "I grabbed a party favor from a friend who doesn't know I got it. Light 'em up!"

The grenade soared through the air, exploding directly above the ship. Max waved at his car from the boat, a ski mask covering his face. Tera frowned, "No fair."

* * *

><p>Max took out the guards on the boat pretty quickly. Of course, it wasn't pretty, but it was efficient. Not a living threat in sight. Tera arrived just as he finished tying Alvarez up, "I left a couple guards alive for you to finish off. I figured you'd want to do something since I stole your thunder.<p>

Tera nodded, "Yeah... I saw them... the scum that protect this bastard..."

Max smiled at Alvarez, "I'm going to let you two talk this out." He shut the door and listened to the screaming that followed. Once it finally stopped, he opened the door to see Tera covered in blood. He held his hand out, "Feel better?"

She nodded, "A lot... thanks."

"Happy to help. So listen, I think you're doing a great job, but what if we could do this... more often?"

"More often?"

"Yeah. I work for the government as a conduit that catches bad guys. All I have to do is say things got out of hand and then they have to take my word for it. If you register as a conduit, they'll have to take your word for it, too."

"... Register as a conduit?"

"Just go tell the world who you are. Then you and I can do what we do best. We can take guys like that off the street and make the world a better place. You in or out?"

"... I'm in."

Max put his earwig back in, "Hey, Tom, she got away again. Alvarez didn't make it. There's dead bodies all over the place and I don't think she's sticking around."

"Why not?"

"She left a note at the scene. It's got a list of international criminals who're rapists, too. She's probably long gone by now."

Tom sighed, "Crap... I'll leave the case open. Are you sure she got away?"

"Yeah. I don't think we'll ever see her again."

"Sorry... listen, Max. I know how hard it is for you to put all your effort into defending someone like this."

Max took a second, remembering how much anger he had inside of him, "I'll talk to you later, Tom. I'm going to go get some fresh air before I get back."

"Bye, Max."

Max looked at Tera, "You want to go grab a few more?"

Tera shrugged, "I usually go to bed by nine thirty..."

"You're going to let scum like that stay on the street because they're out past bedtime?"

Tera shook her head, "... No. Let's go get 'em."

* * *

><p>Max sighed like he hadn't in a long time. Then he looked out the apartment window, "Nice place."<p>

Tera shrugged, "It's home. You had enough of those bastards tonight? You sure went crazy on them."

Max shrugged, "That's the only drawback... killing them is never hard... it's when you have to stop... so you don't run yourself to death..."

Tera patted his shoulder, "That's why I stick to a schedule."

Max scoffed, "I wish I had your willpower when I started... I was so lost then... so blind... I couldn't control myself... all that rage... just pointed everywhere... I just wanted to see the world burn..."

"What about now...?"

Max smiled, "Now I got just a few people in mind."

"Are you always this cool?"

"I try to be. Then again, I'm a seventeen year old virgin with two friends and a job with the government. Not exactly McJagger here."

Tera shrugged, "I'm a seventeen year old virgin, too. We could change that."

Max smiled, "Fire guy get's water girl wet, hot and bothered... sounds like a poorly-written romance novel."

"So you don't want to?"

"I NEVER said that."

* * *

><p>Max walked out of the shower and looked in the mirror at Tera, who had nothing on but a towel, "I should probably head back now... my boss is going to have Homeland Security looking for me if I don't get back soon."<p>

Tera sighed, "I'll see you soon then."

"Oh yeah, and when you head to the clinic, don't forget to mention the whole 'water-bender' thing."


End file.
